Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly is a production of THIRTEEN Productions LLC for WNET. Visit www.pbs.org/religionandethics for additional information. Show #1841 will be fed over PBS at 5:00 p.m. EST on June 12 (check local listings).
Birth Control in the Philippines – For more than a year, the Philippines has been testing a highly controversial new law requiring public health facilities to offer free contraceptive services to everyone who wants them. The Catholic church strongly opposed the law, arguing that only natural family planning (NFP) should be legal, not artificial contraception and abortion. But those favoring the law say it is necessary to control the Philippines’ soaring population which, they say, is the principal cause of the country’s poverty. Fred de Sam Lazaro reports from Manila on the continuing debate there and on how the new law is working.
Benedictine Nuns Raising Cattle – The Abbey of St. Walburga in Colorado is also a 300 acre working ranch managed by 23 nuns who gather for prayer seven times a day, in full black habits, and also, among other things, work as ranch hands raising their herd of beef cattle. Lucky Severson paid them a visit.
Ramadan on the Road – This coming week, with the sighting of the new moon, Muslims around the world will begin observing their holy month of Ramadan. Those who are able are expected to fast from sun up to sun down. This can pose special challenges for Muslims in many professions. We talk with members of the Muslim hip-hop group Native Deen about how they observe Ramadan’s strict requirements while on musical tours.
